Refugee Crisis in Europe (2015-2016): The Clash of Intergovernmental and Supranational Perspectives

Abstract:
The refugee crisis of 2015-2016 exposed structural difficulties in decision making for the European Union on critical issues that was deemed ?existential? for its member states. The emerging balance between intergovernmentalism and supranationalism tilted toward the former at the expense of the latter contriving to the post-Maastricht trend. Member states and the supranational EU institutions have been divided in their approach to the refugee crisis viewing it as either a national security or a human security issue. This clash of perspectives, it is argued, may not only slow the pace of integration but it is also likely to reverse the spillover affects achieved so far. Thus, the most feasible and likely response for the EU is to seek a middle way between the views of the EU actors who prioritize the refugee crisis as primarily a human security issue and those who regard it firstly as a national security issue.